Ex-Red Sox Ace Misses Playing In Boston After Botched Negotiations Last Winter

'I was positive that I’d be able to come back'

Scott Neville | Jul 5, 2023

Ex-Red Sox Ace Misses Playing In Boston After Botched Negotiations Last Winter /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox made some big decisions last winter to let a plethora of core players walk in free agency.

While shortstop Xander Bogaerts stole most of the headlines, right-hander Nathan Eovaldi was a massive loss as well.

The now-Texas Rangers flamethrower said many times leading up to the offseason that he wanted to remain in Boston, and those words appear genuine given his most recent comments.

“I was positive that I’d be able to come back,” Eovaldi told MassLive's Chris Cotillo. “We stayed in contact with everybody (with the Red Sox) during the negotiation process. We let them know (about) other deals that we were getting, just kind of trying to make sure we kept that door open as long as possible. It got to that point where it was time to move on."

Eovaldi's agents reportedly thought his price tag would be higher, and turned down a multi-year deal. Later into the winter, they asked for it back and Boston refused, as they already allocated said funds to outfielder Masataka Yoshida, relievers Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin.

Red Sox Reportedly Pulled Offer For Nathan Eovaldi After Spending Elsewhere

Eovaldi has made Boston look foolish for letting him go. He's posted a 2.64 ERA, 106-to-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .211 batting average against and 0.99 WHIP in a league-leading 112 1/3 innings across 17 starts on his way to being named a 2023 American League All-Star.

The Red Sox pivoted to Corey Kluber in Eovaldi's absence, which will go down as one of the worst signings of the winter.

It is a true shame that Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was not able to retain the 33-year-old star but Eovaldi's camp appears to be mostly at fault in the botched negotiations.

While the Rangers are in a much better spot than the Red Sox, Eovaldi still misses Boston.

“I miss it here,” he said. “I had such an amazing time here in my career. Everything we were able to do in ‘18 and then the personal little achievements I accomplished as well. Boston always has a place near and dear to my heart.

“I think it’s the fan base.... the way that they come out in support, I feel like the whole city, how they are with all of their sports in general. They live and breathe baseball, I feel like, and it’s just that special connection.”

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Published Jul 5, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu